Safety stove-cabinet



2 Sheets-Sheet l c. PLOHBERGER SAFETY STOVE-CABINET Filed April 1, 1940June 30, 194 2.

3nnentor lm/us: FL 011858253 Cittorneg Patented June 30, 1942 UNITEDSTATES PATENT GFFI CE SAFETY STOVE-CABINET- Charles Plohberg'er, NewYork, N; Y. ApplicationApril 1, 1940, Ser'ial-No; 327,182

9 Claims;

This invention relates to safetycabinetsfor gas stoves.

The main object of the invention is to provide a cabinet adapted tohouse'a cooking stove and constructed and arranged to reduce firehazards:

More particularly, the safety cabinet of the present invention isprovided with means operative upon the occurrence of a predeterminedtemperature in the cabinet to close-the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide 1 means for turning offthe gas supplied to the stove in the event that the temperature withinthe cabinet rises beyond a predetermined degree.

More specifically, in accordance Withthe present invention there.is-pr0vided a-cabinet for a for confining in the cabinet fires which maybe caused, for example, :by the ignition of -fats or greases utilized inpreparing various foods. Also,

the invention contemplates the provision of means for turning off thegas supplied to the stove, in the event thatsuch fire occurs andpersists long enough to raise the temperature within the cabinet to adegree sufficient to effect the movement of the closure means to closedposition.

The invention and the above mentioned and other objects thereof will befully understood from the following description, reference being had tothe accompanyingillustrated drawings;

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a safety stove-cabinet embodying the presentinvention, the closure means being in open position; v

Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view of the cabinet on the line 2--2 ofFig. 1, showing in dotted lines the closed position of the closuremeans;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4'4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on'the line 5--5 of Fig. 1; s

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of part of the ope ating mechanism on theline 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view on the line 8--8 of Fig. 2.

Considering now the safety cabinet of the present invention in detail asillustrated in the draw ings, said cabinetis as here 'shown' a sheetmetal enclosure 'having a rear wall- [01a rounded 'top' wall 12; opposedside walls ll-and a front" wall [6' which terminates at its upper ends.short distance above the horizontal wall l8 on which the gas stove'Sissupported. The" cabinet thus has a front and top opening which isnormally open for providin'g'access 'tothe stove. The top wall i2 isrounded-to prevent-the placement 'of articles thereon; Said cabinet ismounted on supporting legs I Qandcan be'open at thebottom.

As hereinbefore indicated; animportant fea ture of the invention residesinthe" provision'of means for closing the cabinet upon the occur renceof a firether'ein as,-for example, when" fat or grease ignites.-Theclosure means comprisesanupper closure member 20;-whichconf0rms incurvature tothat of thetop wall 12, and a lower closure member 22, saidclosure members 20 and 22 being movablefrom retracted-position illus-"tratedin-full linesinFig; 2 to-projected or c1os'-' ing positionindicated in-do'tted lines in Fig; -2;-

Closure member 20-is pivotally mounted by two pairsoi companion sidelinks -24 and 26 disposed adjacent the opposite sidewalls l4 ofthecabinet, the inner endsofsaid links being mounted forpivotal movement ona pivot pin 28 carried by the offset portion 30 of a"mounting-strap 32 1secured toeach side'- wall M of the cabinet. The

outer ends of links 24 and ZSaresecured toupper closure member 20 manysuitable way, and preferably as here show'n'said outer ends of the linksare fastened by bolts -or screws to angle irons- 34 at the side edges ofclosure' mer'nber- 20-in any suitable wayas by bolts-or screws.

Closure member 26 is urged'for movement from retracted positionto theprojected position thereof by suitable means here shown asgravityactuated means or counter-Weights 35. Said weights arepositioned-Within the cabinet and are connected to said closure memberby flexible Wires 38 passing'over guide rollers 10,42, 44, 46,

48 and '50 mounted on the cabinet walls adjacent the opposite sides otthe cabinet. The upper ends of wires 38 are securedto the lower end ofclosure member ZBadjacen't the opposite side edges thereof. The lowerends of said wires 33 are secured to compression springs 52 attached tocompanion counterweights 36. Closure mem#- ber 22 is biased to retractedposition by its own weight and to closed position by said counterweights36,'for which purpose flexible wires 54 are connected at their ends'toclosure member 22 in any suitable way as bywelding thereto as indicatedat 56.- Said wires pass over guide rollers 58 mounted on the oppositeside walls {4 of the cabinet and over the above mentioned guide rollers46, 48 and 50 and are secured to Springs 52. Closure member 22 is guidedfor rectilinear movement to open and retracted positions by angle irons62 and reinforcing bars 64 at the front corners of the cabinet.

Counter-weights 36 are operable to move closure members 20 and 22 toprojected or closed position, in which position the adjacent ends ofsaid closure members meet at the front of the cabinet along a lineindicated at 60 in Fig. 2. However, said closure members 20 and 22 areheld normally in retracted or open position, whereby counter-weights 36are ineffective to project said closure members except upon theoccurrence of a dangerous condition, that is, when a predeterminedtemperature is reached in the cabinet as, for example, when fat orgrease or other substance ignites therein. For this purpose a fusibleand disconnectible link device 66 is provided. Said device comprisesmetal members 68 and secured to closure member and to rear wall It,respectively, and secured normally against relative movement by afusible button 12, as illustrated in detail in Fig. 4.

It will be understood that upon the occurrence in the cabinet ofa'temperature in excess of a predetermined degree as determined by thefusing temperature of button 12, members 68 and Iii will be releasedfrom each other thereby permitting counter-weights 36 to move closuremembers 20 and 22 to fully projected positions. This serves tocompletely close the front and top opening of the cabinet whereby toconfine the fire therein and thus to prevent spreading of the fire tothe kitchen or other room in which the stove is utilized. It will benoted that upper closure member 20 is biased by its own Weight toretracted position and can move to projected position only when releasedby the fusible means. This prevents accidental movement of said upperclosure member to projected position.

Provision is made in accordance with the present invention for turningoff the gas supplied to the stove when the safety closure is operated.For this purpose the gas supply pipe 14 is provided with a safety valve76 which is automatically closed when closure members 20 and 22 aremoved to closed position. For this purpose, as best shown in Figs. 1 and6, one of the links 26 by which the closure member 20 is pivotallymounted has pivotally connected thereto a link 11 by means of a pivotpin 18, and said link 11 is pivotally connected by a pivot pin 80 to anarm 82 connected to the safety valve NS for turning the latter forclosing the passage of gas from supply pipe 14 to the gas stove. It willbe understood that normally, safety valve 16 is open, and closuremembers 20 and 22 are in their retracted positions. When, however, saidclosure members are operated by counter-weights 36, upon the release ofmembers 68 and H! of the fusible-link connection 66, link 11 will beoperated simultaneously with the movement of said closure members toclosed position whereby to close safety valve 16 and cut 01f the supplyof gas to the stove.

Thus it is seen that the safety stove-cabinet as herein disclosed iswell adapted to accomplish the several objects of the invention. It willbe understood, however, that while I have illustrated and described thepresent preferred embodiment of the invention, the latter may beembodied otherwise than as herein specifically disclosed,

and that in the illustrated embodiment, certain changes in the detailsof construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made.Accordingly,

I do not Wish to be limited to the invention as herein illustrated ordescribed except to the extent which may be required by the scope of theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

l. A safety cabinet of the character described having an opening foraccess to the interior of the cabinet, closure means for said openingmounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projectedposition for covering said opening, said closure means comprising upperand lower members spaced from each other in said retracted position andmovable toward each other for covering said opening, said upper memberhaving a pivotal movement and disposed in its retracted position so thatsaid opening extends through the top of the cabinet, said lower memberbeing mounted for sliding movement and disposed in its retractedposition below said opening, said upper and lower members being movabletoward each other to close said opening, means operatively connected tosaid upper and lower members for causing them to move to cover saidopening, and temperatureresponsive means for releasably preventingmovement of said members to cover said opening.

2. A safety cabinet of the character described having an opening foraccess to the interior of the cabinet, closure means for said openingmounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projectedposition for covering said opening, said closure means comprising upperand lower members spaced from each other in said retracted position andmovable to- Ward each other for covering said opening, said upper memberhaving a pivotal movement and disposed in its retracted position so thatsaid opening extends through the top of the cabinet, said lower memberbeing mounted for sliding movement and disposed in its retractedposition below said opening, said upper and lower members being movabletoward each other to close said opening, gravity actuated meansoperatively connected to said upper and lower members for causing themto move to cover said opening, and temperature-responsive means forreleasably preventing movement of said members to cover said opening.

3. A safety cabinet of the character described having a stove mountedtherein and provided with an opening for access to said stove, closuremeans for said opening mounted in the cabinet for movement fromretracted position to projected position for covering said opening,temperature-responsive means normally holding said closure means inretracted position, means mounted within the cabinet and operable underthe control of said temperature-responsive means for causing themovement of said closure means to said projected position, meansincluding a valve for supplying fuel to said stove, and means withinsaid cabinet and operable under the control of saidtemperature-responsive means for closing said valve to out off the fuelsupply when said closure means is projected to cover said opening.

4. A safety cabinet of the character described having a stove mountedtherein and provided with an opening for access to said stove, closuremeans for said opening mounted in the cabinet for movement fromretracted position to projected position for coverin said opening, saidclosure means comprising upper and lower members mounted for movement inthe cabinet and spaced from each other in said retracted position andmovable toward each other for covering said opening, means within thecabinet operatively connected to said upper and lower members forcausing them to move to cover said opening, temperature-responsive meansfor releasably preventing movement of said members to cover saidopening, means including a valve within the cabinet for supplying fuelto said stove, and means within the cabinet and operable under thecontrol of said temperature-responsive means for closing said valve tocut off the fuel supply when said closure means is projected to coversaid opening.

5. A safety cabinet of the character described having an opening foraccess to the interior of the cabinet, said opening extending along thefront and to and over the top of the cabinet, closure means for saidopening mounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position toprojected position for covering said opening, said closure meanscomprising upper and lower members spaced from each other in saidretracted position and movable toward each other for covering saidopening, said upper member having a pivotal movement and disposed in itsretracted position rearwardly of the part of said opening at the top ofthe cabinet, said lower member being mounted for sliding movement anddisposed in its retracted position below said opening, said upper andlower members being movable toward each other to close said opening,fusibly connected members secured to one of said closure members and toa fixed part of the cabinet for normally preventing movement of saidupper closure member to projected position, and means operativelyconnected to both of said closure members for projecting the same tocover said opening under the control of said fusibly connected members.

6. A safety cabinet of the character described having an opening foraccess to the interior of the cabinet, closure means for said openingmounted in the cabinet for movement from retracted position to projectedposition for covering said opening, said closure means comprising upperand lower members spaced from each other in said retracted position andmovable toward each other for covering said opening, said upper memberhaving a pivotal movement and disposed in its retracted position so thatsaid opening extends through the top of the cabinet, said lower memberbein mounted for sliding movement and disposed in its retracted positionbelow said opening, said upper and lower members being movable towardeach other to close said opening, fusible means for normally preventingmovement of said upper closure member to projected position, and meansoperatively connected to both of said closure members for projecting thesame to cover said opening under the control of said fusible means, saidupper closure member being movable to closed position only when releasedby said fusible means.

'7. A safety cabinet of the character described having a top wallterminating at its front edge in spaced relation to the front of thecabinet whereby the cabinet is partially open at the top, said cabinetalso having a front opening, closure members for said top and frontopenings mounted in said cabinet for movement from retracted positionsto projected positions for covering said openings, respectively, saidclosure member for the top opening being so mounted that it is biased bythe weight thereof to retracted position, and temperature-responsivemeans for controlling the movement of said closure members to saidprojected positions, said closure member for the top opening beingmovable to projected position only when released by saidtemperatureresponsive means.

8. A safety cabinet of the character described having a top wallterminating at its front edge in spaced relation to the front of thecabinet whereby the cabinet is partially open at the top, said cabinetalso having a front opening, closure members for said top and frontopenings mounted in said cabinet for movement from retracted positionsto projected positions for covering said openings, respectively, saidclosure members being so mounted that they are biased by t leir ownweights to said retracted positions, means operatively connected to saidclosure members to move them in opposition to the action of gravitythereon to said projected positions, and fusible means for normallypreventing movement of said closure members to said projected positionsthereof, said closure member for the top opening being movable toprojected position only when released by aid temperature-responsivemeans.

9. A safety cabinet of the character described having a rounded top wallterminating at its front edge in spaced relation to the front of thecabinet whereby the cabinet is partially open at the top, said cabinetalso having a front opening, closure members for said top and frontopenings mounted in said cabinet for movement from retracted positionsto projected positions for covering said openings, respectively, saidclosure members being so mounted that they are biased by their ownweights to said retracted positions, means operatively connected to saidclosure members to move them in opposition to the action of gravitythereon to said projected positions, and fusible mean for normallypreventing movement of said closure members to said projected positionsthereof, said closure member for the top opening being movable toprojected position only when released by said temperatureresponsivemeans.

CHARLES PLOHBERGER.

